Tourist arrivals plunged 97% in February

Hong Kong logged 5,500 in February as the pandemic's impact persists.

Hong Kong welcomed some 5,500 tourists in February 2021, recording a 97.2% drop YOY as travel restrictions due to COVID-19 continue to affect the city, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) reported.

Tourism arrivals in Hong Kong started to decrease around the same time last year when it hit 200,000 in February 2020 from 3.2 million in January 2020.

“As the visitor arrivals base in the comparable period last year began to decrease significantly, the year-on-year decline in monthly visitor arrivals to Hong Kong may narrow in the coming months,” the Tourism Board noted.

Of the 5,500 arrivals in February, a total of 3,799 were tourist arrivals from Mainland China, which is lower by 96.1% YOY.

The remaining 1,696 were outside Mainland China, including short-haul and long-haul flights, new markets as well as Macau.

HKTB chairman YK Pang supported the government’s announcement to include employees in tourism-related sectors amongst the priority groups to receive COVID-19 vaccines and lower the age requirement.

The government had just announced that it will expand the priority groups to cover those between ages 30 and 59, and students aged 16 or above studying outside Hong Kong.

“Getting the pandemic under control is one of the key factors for resuming cross-border travel between Hong Kong and other regions,” Pang said. “Therefore, the HKTB calls on members of the travel and related industries to actively participate in the vaccination programme and keep up with the anti-epidemic efforts.”

The HKTB earlier announced that the full resumption of cross-border travel will be unlikely in the next three to six months as the situation remains volatile.

It also outlined short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans to boost the tourism industry, including strategies that will encourage tourists to choose Hong Kong as it anticipates intense competition.